The Incredibly Strange Film Show: George Romero & Tom Savini, actually titled 'Son of the Incredibly Strange...' on screen, is a 40 odd minute documentary focusing on writer & director George Romero's dead trilogy of films, Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978) & Day of the Dead (1985) along with a brief bit about his interesting Vampire film Martin (1977) along with a sizable contribution from special make-up effects man Tom Savini.
Originally aired during 1989 here in the UK on Channel 4 this was episode 2 from season 2 of the criminally short lived TV program The Incredibly Strange Film Show produced, directed & hosted by youthful looking Jonathan Ross who has since gone on to become one of the biggest celebrities here in the UK although he admirably has never hidden his love for exploitation cinema. This particular episode is a fascinating look at the dead trilogy of films made by Romero & Savini, the two main interviewees are obviously Romero & Savini who speak clearly, generally stick to the question they have been asked without wandering off topic & are easy to understand. I didn't think any of it was exactly groundbreaking but if your after a entertaining & informative documentary about Romero's dead films then this is it.
What I also liked about this was that Ross & a camera crew went to Pennsylvania where the dead films & Martin were shot, Ross visits & presents some of the show from the actual locations used in the film including the cemetery from the opening sequence of Night of the Living Dead & the mall from Dawn of the Dead which looked exactly the same as it did during the film right down to a car on display! There are numerous clips from the films mentioned including some of the gory highlights, there is some footage of Savini's studio & some of his previous effects work which fans of his will recognise & he even makes Ross up in zombie make-up which is a nice scene.
This is a nice documentary which at 40 minutes lasts long enough to be relatively detailed although at the same time short enough not to outstay it's welcome. It could have been a bit more comprehensive but it's still pretty good all the same & you can tell Ross loves the genre which makes a big difference.
Beware though, this series is notoriously hard to find & as far as I am aware has never been issued on VHS let alone DVD or had any repeats either, in fact I believe the only way to watch it is from off-air domestic recordings made by viewers at home the time it was originally aired.
Originally aired during 1989 here in the UK on Channel 4 this was episode 2 from season 2 of the criminally short lived TV program The Incredibly Strange Film Show produced, directed & hosted by youthful looking Jonathan Ross who has since gone on to become one of the biggest celebrities here in the UK although he admirably has never hidden his love for exploitation cinema. This particular episode is a fascinating look at the dead trilogy of films made by Romero & Savini, the two main interviewees are obviously Romero & Savini who speak clearly, generally stick to the question they have been asked without wandering off topic & are easy to understand. I didn't think any of it was exactly groundbreaking but if your after a entertaining & informative documentary about Romero's dead films then this is it.
What I also liked about this was that Ross & a camera crew went to Pennsylvania where the dead films & Martin were shot, Ross visits & presents some of the show from the actual locations used in the film including the cemetery from the opening sequence of Night of the Living Dead & the mall from Dawn of the Dead which looked exactly the same as it did during the film right down to a car on display! There are numerous clips from the films mentioned including some of the gory highlights, there is some footage of Savini's studio & some of his previous effects work which fans of his will recognise & he even makes Ross up in zombie make-up which is a nice scene.
This is a nice documentary which at 40 minutes lasts long enough to be relatively detailed although at the same time short enough not to outstay it's welcome. It could have been a bit more comprehensive but it's still pretty good all the same & you can tell Ross loves the genre which makes a big difference.
Beware though, this series is notoriously hard to find & as far as I am aware has never been issued on VHS let alone DVD or had any repeats either, in fact I believe the only way to watch it is from off-air domestic recordings made by viewers at home the time it was originally aired.